KAYU MANIS

Nama Tempatan : Kayu Manis

Nama Saintifik : Cinnamomum Zeylanicum

Nama Lain : Cinnamon, Ceylon Cinnamon, Gui, Gui Zhi(China), Cassia ,Wood

Famili : Lauraceae

Kegunaan:

* Kulit kayu manis apabila dikeringkan akan menjadi rempah yang digunakan dalam masakan.

* Minyak pati dari kulit kayu manis banyak digunakan dalam perubatan aroma terapi

untuk menghasilkan kesan yang menenangkan jiwa.

* Kayu manis juga digunakan untuk melawaskan pembuangan najis, penawar cirit birit (membunuh bakteria e-coli) dan penahan sakit.

* Ia juga merupakan anti bakteria semula jadi yang dapat mencegah pembentukan plak gigi dan kerosakan gigi.

* Ia juga dapat melegakan senak perut dan juga menghilangkan rasa mual dan loya terutamanya pada wanita hamil.

Rujukan: http://kelapadara-bioaslidesaku.blogspot.com/2008/04/herba-kayu-manis.html

BLUE MUSHROOMS

I recently discovered that there really exist mushrooms that are blue in colour. The Scientific name for it is Mycena interrupta. The blue mushroom is commonly known as the Pixies' Parasol. It can be found in Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Chile.

CENDAWAN BIRU

Saya baru mendapat tahu bahawa ada cendawan yang berwarna biru. Nama saintifik untuk jenis cendawan ini adalah Mycena interrupta. Cendawan biru juga dikenali sebagai Pixies' Parasol dan boleh dijumpai di Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia dan Chile.

Reference/Rujukan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycena_interrupta

http://cheeserland.com/

LIPSTICK PLANT (BIXA ORELLANA)

One of the visitors to the Taman Herba Vokasma blog asked me if I knew where to locate the Lipstick Plant. Actually my late grandfather planted it in the compound of our old house many years ago but it has since been chopped down. He used it to make a herbal concoction for sprains.

From books and magazines that I have read, this plant is also used by the Orang Aslis in Malaysia and I guess that if my visitor were to go visit an aboriginal village, he might just find the tree for his research. Anyway, I'll try asking two of my Orang Asli students if they have the plant in their settlement. If yes, I'll let everyone know.

INFORMATION ABOUT BIXA

Lipstick plant is actually the nickname for Achiote (Bixa orellana). It is a shrub or small tree which is native to the Americas. We have the plant here as well. The plant bears pink flowers and bright red rambutan-like fruits which contain red seeds. The fruits dry and harden to brown capsules.

Uses

The fruit cannot be eaten but instead is harvested for its seeds which contain a red dye caleld bixin. The inedible fruit is harvested for its seeds, which contain annatto, also called bixin. It can be extracted by stirring the seeds in water. The achiote has long been used by American Indians to make body paint, especially for the lips, which would explain why it is called Lipstick plant.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bixa_orellana

KEGUNAAN DAUN BELIMBING BESI

Setiap kali emak saya rasa yang kulitnya rasa gatal atau terdapat ruam, dia akan memetik daun belimbing besi sebagai rawatan. Ini adalah rawatan tradisi menggunakan herba yang diajar oleh pengasuhnya yang berasal dari negeri Cina. Untuk merawat kulit yang gatal, anda perlu memetik daun belimbing besi yang boleh mengisi satu beg plastik yang besar. Kemudian basuh daun itu dan kemudian merebus dalam air yang telah ditambah garam. Rebus selama satu jam. Lepas itu, mandi dengan air rebusan itu. Biar air itu di kulit untuk seketika sebelum basuh. Petua ini memang mujarab!

English version

STARFRUIT LEAVES USED TO TREAT ITCHINESS

Every time my mum suffers from itchy skin or rashes, she will go look for the leaves of the starfruit (carambola) plant. This herbal remedy was taught to her by her nanny who hailed from China. All one needs to do is to boil the leaves for about an hour in salt water. Then when the water is lukewarm use it to take a bath. It would be even better if one leaves the starfruit water on the body for a while before rinsing with water.
This morning I drove my mum to a house in our neighbourhood where such a tree could be found. The house has been unoccupied for some time and it seems that a lot of ladies come and pluck the leaves for medicinal purposes as well. My mum has been having sleepless nights because her skin felt itchy. Well, I am sure that after her bath, she'd be okay. Believe me the herbal remedy really works!

TECOMA (Tabebuia Rosea)

The Tecoma trees (Tabebuia Rosea) in the Seri Manjung area were in full bloom a couple of weeks ago. It reminded one of the Sakura or Cherry Blossom trees in Japan. I managed to take pictures of the trees to share with you here.

MALAY VERSION

Pokok Tecoma (Tabebuia Rosea) yang terdapat di Seri Manjung berbunga dengan lebatnya beberapa minggu yang lepas. Ia menyerupai pokok Sakura atau Cherry Blossom yang terdapat di negeri Jepun. Saya dapat menangkap gambar pokok-pokok ini untuk berkongsi dengan anda.

POKOK BUNGA KERTAS BERWARNA-WARNI

Pokok-pokok bunga kertas di atas ditanam di kawasan sekolah saya. Ini adalah hasil cantuman tunas yang dibuat oleh seorang guru sekolah saya yang memang suka berkebun. Cantik, kan?

ENGLISH VERSION

The colourful bougainvillea plants above can be found in my school. The different colours of flowers growing on one plant is because of bud-grafting work done by one of the teachers in my school who loves gardening. Beautiful, right?